Oh wishful thinking and delusion, how I enjoy them.
Today Gersnet has published a mind-bending piece about James Tavernier is Scotland’s best right back. Is he? Would he get into our team? I may think Lustig is past his best but he’s a far better defender, a far better footballer, than the Sevco player. Which is to say nothing of young Anthony Ralston, who looks certain to be a big star.
But arguments over the right back slot aside, the article also tries to make the case that Tavernier is on the same level as Kieran Tierney. As per usual with this lot they are throwing stats at you. So what? Stats put Kris Boyd ahead of Henrik Larsson in the all-time SPL scoring charts but one of those players has a Champions League winners medal and other just has a fat arse.
The idea that Tavernier is anywhere near Tierney’s level is so out there as to be rendered unfit for discussion amongst adults. It is not just stupid, it’s as if a Celtic fan took over that site and tried to write an article that was as close to parody as they could get. Kieran Tierney is an exceptional, once in a generation, talent. Tavernier is a bog-standard SPL player.
This is about money. Of course it is. This is part of the continuing effort to boost the market value of their dreck. The likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and City have been sniffing around Kieran and the only reason we don’t read more stories about him than we do about Dembele is that he’s so clearly committed to our club that such articles would have no traction whatsoever. This kid has Celtic in his blood. There’s no moving him.
There is exactly zero real interest in Tavernier, and it’s a well-known fact that Sevco has put it out there that they would not be hard to deal with if there was. The guy is not rated outside of Ibrox, and that’s borne out by the complete lack of speculation about his future. Sevco fans weren’t even terribly impressed by him a few months ago, and I cannot read their social media sites at the moment without smelling the club’s PR sweat all over them.
I mean, how can it be that just about every blog over there is suddenly singing from the same song sheet, in the same tune? That Windass is worth over £1 million. That Morelos is worth £10 million. That they shouldn’t take less than £2 million for Tavernier?
Sevco fans were almost entirely united in their verdicts on Tavernier and Windass; neither was good enough and they should get shot of them quick. All of a sudden, coincidently with the opening of the transfer window, these were key parts of the squad and indispensable unless interested parties were bringing their big cheque books. Coincidence? I think not.
Someone got to these guys. They are no longer writing objectively. They are either acting under explicit instructions from their club or they have had it “suggested” to them that they start writing positive pieces about the abilities of their players.
But you don’t have to trawl very far to find what they really think of these guys; it’s all there, on a million threads. Some of the language they’ve used about these guys should form the basis of every scouting report put together about them.
And at the apex of this nonsense are the ridiculous comparisons; Windass with our own best midfielders, Morelos with Moussa Dembele and now Kieran with Tavernier as if any of that stuff has the slightest basis in reality outside their bubble.
Those comparisons do not stack up in the real world.
But as none of these Peepul actually live in that world, I can fully understand why they cling to them.
Join the best Celtic Facebook Group there is right here.
Like our Facebook page and comment on and share the articles by clicking here.
You can also follow us on Twitter at @The_Celtic_Blog